Old, Unhappy, Far Away Things
by Silverflames16
Summary: Adventures through a war torn world, unraveling a conspiracy, and finding out who you really are. All good things to come in time. No ownership of Sega characters claimed. Rating for violence, language, suggestive themes, and plenty of other things children shouldn't be reading about, of course, not that this would stop you anyways, sure didn't stop me.
1. Tough Day

A thick smell of dust and smoke hung in the air. It seemed to compliment the grey skied scenery of the war torn streets. Bombed out buildings and crumbling streets were a norm though and had been for nearly twenty years. This city, Anea, was hit much harder during the war, worse than other cities and it showed in the streets. No one lived here, not anymore, just the echoes of a once beautiful city, now a hollow shell. One could feel as though the ghost of its citizen still walked the empty streets. The silence was perhaps the most unnerving part. Even in abandoned cities, the sound of birds or just even the wind could be heard, but here, the air was silent.

In the bombed out ruins of a gas station, though, there was some life stirring, four people, soldiers, huddled for cover inside, waiting and watching. Near the window, two of the soldiers watched out over the street. One, a green manned wolf scanned an apartment building across through a pair of binoculars, a contemplative look on his face.

Beside him, a black haired fox watched further up the street that separated the two buildings through the scope of her battle rifle.

"See anything?" The wolf said, breaking the silence.

"Negative contacts." The fox replied.

Behind them, a blue furred lion sat leaned against a counter, his hand running up and down his heavy assault gun, an almost therapeutic habit for him, relaxing the nerves that would get to him when waiting.

"Are we good to go Bishop?" The lion asked, eager to get moving again, after an early morning infiltration into this city, trying to avoid detection by sensors and enemy patrols, they found themselves hung up by an overly cautious commander

"Not until Granite team gets on station." The Wolf named Bishop replied, garnering a grunt from his fellow squad mate.

"Relax Viktor," Another voice called from behind the counter. "You'll get your chance." A silver furred hedgehog said, popping up from behind the counter.

"Just nervous, some of us hate waiting Silver." The lion replied. "What were you even doing?"

"Setting a booby trap." The hedgehog replied, leaping over the counter and setting himself next to the lion, who jumped up and away from the counter.

"Hold on there, don't go setting charges while I'm still in the room." Viktor said.

"Relax, it isn't even armed." Silver replied, opening his bag, searching for an energy bar he had stashed earlier."

"Cut it out you two before you get us all killed." Bishop snarled.

"Hey Bishop, I've got movement." The fox said, causing everyone to snap into cover and out of sight.

"What is it Dora?" Bishop asked, also peering out into the street.

"One contact. Cat, purple fur, far end of the street." Dora replied.

"Hostile?" Bishop asked, turning to find the cat Dora mentioned

"Don't know."

"Armed."

"Negative."

The whole team waited for a moment for a reply from their sniper on where the cat was going. If they were discovered, they wouldn't have a lot of time before they'd have enemy troops raining down on them, they'd need to be gone and fast.

"Alright, she's gone." The fox announced, lowering her weapon.

"Ok, Granite or no Granite, we go on with the mission. Get ready to move." Bishop ordered. The team of soldiers began to pack their things up, making sure to take care they leave no trace of their presence behind, stuffing gear and ammo into their packs and reloading their weapons. Silver also made not to arm his trap, a nasty surprise for anyone unfortunate enough to trigger it.

"Alright, Viktor, you're up first." Bishop said. The lion lined up near the doorway with Dora and Silver at his back and Bishop behind them.

"Alright, let's move." Viktor declared, making his move across, Dora and Silver right behind him and Bishop bringing up the rear. Back out into the open, the team moved quickly across the parking lot and into the street, taking care to scan the surrounding buildings for enemies.

The four soldiers stacked up near another doorway. Bishop made a pat on Viktor's shoulder, signaling for him do go. Making a quick move around the corner, his gun drawn.

"Clear." Viktor said, the team following in behind them.

"Dora, Silver. Up to the Eighth floor and get set up. Viktor, room duty down here with me." The team split up, with Dora and Silver taking off down the main corridor, heading for the stairs with Silver taking care to set a few proximity mines on door frames along the way, a way of covering the backdoor, should the team be discovered.

Taking a right at the end of the corridor, the two went low to stay under windows that showed clear view onto the street. This sneaking around was not uncommon, especially for Silver and Dora. Neither were armed heavily, they had to use stealth and skill for their means of defense.

Once they reached the stairs at the end of the hall, they were able to stand back up, now out of vision and started their climb up a half demolished staircase.

"Looks like another milk run." Dora said, taking care to not fall on the crumbling steps.

"You never know with these ops, but if the convoy does pass through here, then I'd call it a lot more than a milk run." The hedgehog replied, following her lead.

"Cut the chatter you two." Bishop ordered over the radio. Silver rolled his eyes. Unsure if it was the mission or the day but Bishop had been a bit of a hard ass ever since they inserted earlier in the day.

The pair of soldiers reached the 12th floor after a few minutes, Silver made sure to lay down another proximity mine before the pair made their way down another hallway, stacking up on a door at the end. Taking care to open the door quietly, Silver lead Dora inside the bombed out remains of a living room. A quick scan around the room revealed a simple apartment, adjacent to the living room was a small kitchen, beyond it, a door that must have led to a bedroom. Silver motioned for Dora to move to her right and check the kitchen, while he took the bedroom.

Once they had made sure they were alone and that the apartment was clear of any surprises, Dora quickly got to work setting up her sniper's nest while Silver got to work on demolitions, placing on more proximity mine on the main door and arming it. He set his pack down on the couch and began to work on arming sequences for four demo charges.

"Team 2 in position." Dora called over the radio, now fully set up.

"Roger that, Granite has arrived across the street, we should have visual on them in a few minutes." Bishop replied.

"Is it just me or is Bishop a little on edge lately?" Dora said, making sure to turn her mic off this time, Silver doing the same.

"I don't know, I think that cat might have set him off. This place is supposed to be abandoned." Silver replied, continuing to work on arming his explosives.

"Well, I think he's just being paranoid, there are refugees all over the place. Dora replied.

"This place is supposed to be radioactive though." Silver said

"Only the east side. The Soli's left most of the city intact." Dora replied.

"Intact? Hmph, I hate to see what you call destroyed." Silver scoffed.

"You know what I mean." Dora replied. Silver had a point though, the ruins of a city were a haunting sight. Crumbling buildings of a metropolis, a testament to the advancement of civilized life, now a reminder of the costs of war.

"Check, Razor team this is Granite team, we're in position." A voice said over the comms.

"Took you guys long enough." Silver said before turning his mic back on. "Copy that Granite team. Dora and I are on the eighth floor, center of the building, do you see us?" Silver asked.

"We've got ya Silver." The voice said over the radio.

"Ground floor, near the lobby." Bishop said calmly

"Hey Rook, next time don't take so long." Viktor said.

"Sorry Viktor, we got hung trying to not be seen." The voice of Rook replied, a hint of sarcasm lingering on his words.

"Is that my brother?" Another voice said on the comm.

"Yeah it is Raptor." Viktor said over the radio.

"Not all of us are as eager to get killed as you." Raptor replied.

"That's what I've been saying to him." Silver added.

"Enough, all of you." Bishop ordered, ending the conversation. "One more peep Silver and we're gonna have problems." He added. Silver shook his head and got back to work on his demolitions charges.

Finishing the arming sequence on the last one. With all four charges ready, Silver walked up to the window and with a thought, the charges began to move up, off the ground surrounded by a green aura.

Silver motioned for the charges to move out the window, down towards the street below. Taking care to place the charges in an effective position. The first in the center of the street, between the buildings to stop the convoy cold. Another, near a gas station where enemy soldiers would most likely try and take cover when the ambush began. The final two were placed on the external corner of a buildings kitty corner to Silver's position to blow after the engagement began to trap the convoy in. Taking great care to set them down gently and remotely arm them was an easy matter with psychokinesis.

"Charges in position." Silver said over the radio.

"We saw, good work Silver." Bishop replied.

Silver went back to his pack and pulled out a spotting scope. Returning to Dora's side and getting himself set up, ready to pick targets.

"I've got movement." A voice called over the radio.

"What do you see?" Bishop replied.

"Purple cat, about three feet tall, far end of the street." The voice responded. Dora and Silver quickly swung towards where they voice said and sure enough, there was the lavender cat again. Getting a good look at her, she wasn't wearing anything special, just civilian clothes. She wasn't really walking with a purpose either, just walking along, seemingly in disbelief of her surroundings.

"Her again?" Dora said.

"She's gonna see the charges by the station." Silver said.

"Hey, what's that?" Rook said over the radio. The sounds of an explosion echoed through the city. Everyone's attention turned to the source, the sixth floor of the building across the street. Flames blew the windows out and the whole floor erupted into a quick fireball.

"What the hell!" Dora yelled. The cat below took off in a sprint across the street, away towards the explosion. Dora took a shot at her but the cat was too fast.

"Hold your fire Dora!" Bishop yelled. "Granite team responded."

"They're all dead." Raptor said over the radio.

"You're not. Are you hurt?" Viktor replied.

"I think my leg is busted. It was booby trapped." Raptor replied. Just then, the sounds of engines could be heard approaching in the distance, gunships.

"Soli's!" Silver said, picking up his scope and returning to his bag. "They knew."

"We've got to go!" Dora declared

"We can't leave him behind!" Viktor said.

"We don't have a choice, if those gunships get here and we're still around then we're all dead." Dora argued.

"We don't leave people behind, back me up Silver!" Viktor argued back.

"I can get us over there." Silver replied, packing up the things in his bag.

"Bishop?" Dora asked, hoping to gain some support.

"I'm not leaving without him sir." Viktor added.

"Are you sure Silver?" Bishop asked

"Positive sir, but you're all going to have to trust me." Silver stated, throwing his pack over his shoulder and slinging his gun.

"I'm with you Silver." Viktor said.

"Alright, get ready for Silver then." Bishop ordered.

"Dammit." Dora said, slinging her rifle and putting her pack back on.

"Everyone ready." Silver said, standing next to Dora by the window and wrapping his arm around her waist.

"What are we waiting for?" Viktor said.

"Go!" Silver said, taking a run and leap through the window, catching himself and Dora, holding them in the air with his powers. He then got eyes on Bishop and Viktor who were falling, reacting, Silver grabbed them as well and began to lift them up. Silver pulled all four of them along, towards the blown out sixth floor in the building across the street. His strength waning, Silver chucked his three companions a short distance into the building, all of them rolling to break their fall. Silver had just enough strength to get himself through as well, making a hard landing inside the building.

"Good work Silver." Bishop said, offering his hand to Silver and helping him up.

"Raptor, where are you at?" Viktor called, running through the burned out office they were in.

"In here!" Raptor called across the hall. Viktor rushed to tend to his brother, the others close behind.

Raptor had lucked out and was behind a file cabinet which shielded him from the blast though the force of the explosion still managed to throw him a ways through the charred hallway. Raptor was splinting his leg up before Viktor took him quickly and threw him over his shoulders.

"Can I have a minute?" Raptor said, still trying to tend to his leg.

"No time, what's the quickest way out?" Bishop asked.

"Old buildings like this had large sewer access in the basement, we can take that out." Dora explained.

"Alright, you heard her, to the basement, let's move like we have a purpose." Bishop ordered. The team made for the south staircase and got moving down towards the basement. Silver took point with the rest close behind through the destroyed stairwell. The gunships were heard getting closer, just outside the building.

"Silver, send them packing!" Bishop ordered. Silver reached for the detonator in his pocket and set to blow it.

"Alright hang on." Silver said, pressing the button. The charges set earlier all began to detonate, sending several shockwaves through the building. The sound of several gunships crashing could also be heard, caught in the explosions. The very foundations of the building began to shake as everyone began to lose a little balance. When the vibrations finally subsided, everyone stopped for a moment, no more engines.

"Guess I packed a little too much into those." Silver said meekly

"Let's move!" Viktor ordered from the back. The team was on the move again, heading for the basement. Silver kicked the basement door and continued to lead the way to a dark hallway, using a flashlight attached to his armor for light.

"There should be a sign saying sub-basement up ahead and another set of stairs." Dora said from behind him and Silver nodded, continuing forward. The team kept running down the corridor, they had a few minutes while their pursuers recovered from the explosions, if they were even still alive. Silver rounded a corner and was stopped by the sight of a person blocking their path, the cat from earlier.

"Silver, what the hell is going on?" The cat said.


	2. Where Am I?

You never get used to interdimensional travel. It's a strange feeling to describe and unlike anything else in the universe, well, except time travel maybe. It's as though you're a liquid of sorts, flowing in a river. You never get a sense of where _you_ are because it feels as though you're everywhere all at once, flowing in a direction, your destination unknown. And that's the only sense you experience, you see nothing because you have no eyes, smell nothing because your nose doesn't exist, and hear nothing with your non-present ears; they're all lost, flowing somewhere else. You're stuck, alone with your thoughts. It can be maddening, and it feels like a lifetime passes. Eventually you know it's coming to an end because you're overcome with this feeling of falling, though the direction is unsure. It's kind of hard to orient yourself without a body, 'down' would probably be the easiest way to describe. You feel yourself reforming, the piece of you pulling itself back together, and ready to take on wherever you might be.

That feeling fades quickly as you're snapped back to reality, fully formed and…well…falling. The subtle return of gravity's force is almost always, just as it was now. The air rushing across my fur was welcomed once more and I soon made contact with solid ground. I placed my hands on the surface to steady my landing and took note of the solid concrete below me. I opened my eyes and took a quick survey of my surroundings, it looked as though I was back in Crisis City, though this was far from the case. The distinct lack of molten lava, sulfur filled air, and fire-born monster spawn made that perfectly clear, though I could easily tell this city had seen better days. The streets looked as though they had been bombed; the buildings had little left for windows, or even structure for that matter, many were barely standing, other seemed to have collapsed long ago.

"Like the change of scenery?" A deep toned voice said from behind me, a voice that could only belong to one…I quickly turned to the source and sure enough, there he was, standing on top of a pile of rubble. His dark skin and expressionless face are somethings you just don't forget. He still possessed the form of that black hedgehog, but his green eyes were filled with a contempt I hadn't ever seen.

"Mephiles." I growled, igniting my palms with flames.

"Glad to see you made the trip in one piece Blaze, I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you." The demon said condescendingly.

"Where are we?" I demanded.

"Back where you belong, I feel as though you fit in here much better than that village you were hiding out in." He replied, taking a few steps closer.

"I'm back on Mobius?" I asked. The creature only nodded.

"You have something that belongs to me, I'd like it back." He continued, pointing to my chest. That could only mean one thing.

"If you think that I'm going to release Iblis, you're going to need a new plan." I replied, defiance in my voice.

"I'm well aware. You were never much of a crier Blaze; I'd probably have better luck just trying to rip Iblis away from your soul." He responded.

"I'd like to see you try." I replied, running at the demon, taking several strikes at him with flame empowered claws. He effortlessly dodged or parried all of my hits, before forcing me back with one powerful push from his palm. I was knocked from my feet but regained my balance almost in an instant.

"Come now Blaze, we both know that isn't going to work. I don't want to hurt you. You have real promise and if you work with me. I can even send you back to that little seaside kingdom you came to call home when you were just a girl." Mephiles said.

"If I release Iblis? And doom this world to destruction by his flames?" I retorted.

"Well, when you put it like that…" Mephiles replied, maintaining an air of calm in his voice.

"Enough! I'm never going to release Iblis. You're just going to have to kill me." I replied angrily.

"You may not realize it, but that's going to create a lot more work for me than this will." Mephiles explained. "I'd have to track down your soul and try and unbind Iblis from you, that's a much bigger challenge than scouring the limitless number of dimensions in search of your physical form. Do you realize how hard it is to locate a body, imagine the limitless and fleeting soul? I have eternity Blaze, but that doesn't mean I want to spend all of it hunting you."

"I guess you're out of luck then." I replied sarcastically.

"Come now Blaze, do you honestly believe I'm just going to resign myself to that fate? Look who you're talking to." Mephiles said, spreading his arms wide. And in an instant, he was gone. I was alone once more.

I took another scan of my surroundings, realizing that I may have been in a bit of a bind. This city was in bad shape and if that was any hint as to the condition of the rest of the planet, I'd be lucky to find anyone alive.

"Just like last time." I whispered to myself before I set off walking. I wasn't really sure where I was going, or what was awaiting me. Why would Mephiles send me here? He obviously didn't want to kill me. He would have just done it had that been the case.

What could have happened while I was gone? There weren't that many people to begin with, maybe the few that were left…no, I couldn't think like that. Silver would have found a way, but maybe I was thousands of years after his time, or maybe it had only been a few years. It looked as though Iblis had never scratched this world. Sure, it was in very bad shape, but lava doesn't just disappear, nor do fissures in a planet's surface. The buildings lacked burn marks, but they did have holes, bullet holes.

Maybe Mephiles was lying, maybe I wasn't on Mobius, but then again, why lie? Maybe I was thousands of years into the future; he did have the power to move through time. It surely was possible. That still doesn't explain why he brought me back. What did it matter if I had Iblis, if he wanted to destroy this world, it looked as though someone already had.

It was an uneasy feeling being surrounded by all these empty buildings. I was alone and yet, I couldn't shake the feeling of eyes on me. The whole area felt dead, the only sounds were my heels on the ground, the only smell was that of dust, and I was the only movement for miles around. All of this just put me even more on edge.

It was times like these that I missed Silver most. He wouldn't say much, just enough to let you know you weren't alone. I suppose that's why I came to like him so much. Sure, he was naïve and reckless at times, but he also had flashes of bravery and wisdom. You could never really tell what Silver you were going to get that day; I guess that's what made it fun.

These last few years I had been spending much of my time alone, no real companions. Iblis was a burden as it was. I didn't want to risk releasing it on anyone, so that meant keeping my distance from all. That wasn't to say that there were still people around me, I could always count on a few people to talk to, just enough to know how things were. I'd settled down near a village on some distant world, making a living as a weaver. It was easy work, and I was naturally good with my hands. It was difficult, learning to be self-reliant again but I got the hang of it.

I was snapped out of my inner monologue by the sounds of explosions and a shockwave rapturing through. I turned to see fire erupting on the upper story of a building. So, I sprang into action, running towards the explosion to see if anyone had been hurt. However, I didn't get very far before I heard a shot ring out, just missing behind me. I ducked into an alley and out of sight. Obviously, someone wasn't very happy to see me, but least someone was alive. From my covered spot, I looked for the origin of the shot. Approaching in the distance was the sound of engines, somewhere up in the air, apparently I wasn't the only one who heard the commotion. I looked back out onto the street to catch sight of a pair of figures run out onto the street from a building across from the one that exploded, a wolf and a lion. Above them, two more figures jumped out of one of the upper stories, only to be caught by a green aura, psychokinesis. I took a closer look at the flying figures, a black fox and a silver hedgehog. The image was spitting, five spines arrayed on his forehead with two more out the back.

"Silver?" I said to myself. The two figures on the street were quickly lifted up and all four flew into the building that had just been rocked by explosion. It was time to get some answers. I looked around for an entrance, and found it in the form of an old basement access window. I kicked it in and quickly swung myself inside, needing to find a way up. I took off running down a hall, looking for a staircase. It was dark, the only light leaking in was out of similar windows to the one that I had used to enter. My heels were clicking on the tile as I tried to hasten my pace, I needed to hurry or he'd be gone.

I knew he'd make it, Silver was a survivor. Maybe this wouldn't be all that bad. He'd be in for a shock once I found him, and maybe we could figure out what's happened.

I was interrupted by another wave of explosions, much more violent than the first. The whole building shook from the shockwaves that must have been street level outside; I was knocked clean off my feet. Good thing I was inside.

I regained my balance, and got back on the move, running up a short stairwell and around a corner. And it was there that I ran straight into who I was looking for, standing before me, Silver. He looked older, but his features were otherwise the same. He seemed as shocked as I was, and I said the only words I could think of.

"Silver! What the hell is going on?"


End file.
